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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23171743">Self Portrait</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskedXinger/pseuds/MaskedXinger'>MaskedXinger</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Music Said That We Are Meant To Be [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Can be read as a stand alone, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Inspired by Music, M/M, Meet-Cute, Soulmates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:15:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,295</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23171743</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskedXinger/pseuds/MaskedXinger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun was very unsure, one thing he knew was that they were not bad.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Byun Baekhyun/Kim Junmyeon | Suho, Park Chanyeol/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Music Said That We Are Meant To Be [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665706</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Self Portrait</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello hello, almost two years later I have finally written the the next part of the Music Said That We Are Meant To Be series. Please leave likes and kudos, in this house we love positive reinforcement.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Baekhyun knew that his soulmate probably could not stand him and that was part of the fun. See what was the fun of your soulmate being able to hear you sing when you are not around them, but always giving them a perfect vocal performance? Besides, Baekhyun, was “insufferably annoying”, at least that is what Chanyeol, his roommate Yixing’s soulmate said. Chanyeol was one to talk though, Baekhyun once witnessed Yixing learning one of Chanyeol’s favourite songs and get the lines wrong, repeatedly. For several hours. When Chanyeol came to their shared room after that ordeal, he was smiling ear to ear. <em>You learnt it for me? Xingie you sound amazing. </em>Baekhyun would think about what happened after but he cannot, because he was exiled. He could guess, but he will not. All that matters is his bed was fine afterwards.</p>
<p>Baekhyun did not purposefully sing the wrong lyrics, sometimes in the wrong key from the jump. He had been having an off day, preparing for the Voice, Opera and Vocal Coaching Department Concerto Competition. He was tired, and although he knew better than to strain his voice, he would not call it a day. Then he heard it, his soulmate irritably sang the correct words. Baekhyun could tell that although they were decent singer, they did not do vocal training and were probably some biology major that loves opera or something. It made Baekhyun happy though, since he turned eighteen and could hear his soulmate’s voice and vice versa, he actually had not gotten to hear his soulmate sing very much. Were they shy or reluctant? Baekhyun was very unsure, one thing he knew was that they were not bad. When they sang correctly back to him on that day, Baekhyun was startled but it lifted his spirits. Since that day, Baekhyun could not help but to sometimes sing a song wrong just to hear his soulmate’s voice. There was something very cute and funny to Baekhyun about how his soulmate seemed reluctant to hear him sing, but would aggressively sing back if he sang a song wrong one too many times.</p>
<p>Baekhyun wondered what his soulmate was like, of course he had. Were they his best friend? Were they his romantic love? What did they look like, what did they like doing?</p>
<hr/>
<p>Junmyeon sighed. He was trying to complete this painting and his soulmate was doing it again. It was obvious to Junmyeon that his soulmate was messing with him, singing <em>L’amour est un oiseau rebelled </em>incorrectly. His soulmate had a gorgeous voice, but the random nonsensical lyrics often got distracting. Junmyeon sometimes sang it back correctly hoping that his soulmate would stop but alas, that actually seemed to amuse his soulmate. Reluctantly, Junmyeon would indulge them; they probably just wanted to hear him.</p>
<p>For his own part? Junmyeon did not really like singing once his soulmate could hear him. For a year he had heard his soulmate’s voice but they had not heard him. Their voice seemed to get stronger and more refined as time passed, and Junmyeon put two and two together. They probably worked on their voice. For what job or schooling? Junmyeon was not sure but he couldn’t sing to someone who did it as their job, how exhausting would t be for them to know everything wrong with his technique and not be able to do anything about it?</p>
<p>His new friend Yixing thought that this was silly. Easy for Yixing to say, because despite what Yixing may say about how they met, Chanyeol is pretty laid back and Yixing studies music, Yixing knew what he was doing when he sang, he had training. Junmyeon? Junmyeon was a painter. He loved putting on dungarees and painting new worlds that people would pretentiously try to dissect during the university gallery openings. The watered down oil paints and clear varnishes were Junmyeon’s home, they were what he knew. He was good at visuals.</p>
<p>Right now it was hard though. He had to complete an assignment about everyday people and he did not know what to do. Junmyeon was quite literally throwing paint against a wall and seeing what sticks. All this singing was exceptionally distracting to him. That is what they never told you about soulmates, singing in your head is really distracting. According to Yixing’s boyfriend’s roommate Kyungsoo, it was something that could be controlled once you met your soulmate in person and got to know each other. Yixing always reminded him that everyone meets their soulmate someday, <em>it was a fact. </em>What Junmyeon needed was not someday, maybe when he settles in the south of France or wherever he runs away to as a sixty or seventy year old. He needed today, so that he could pass this assignment.</p>
<p>Since Junmyeon was unable to escape the music, he decided to go find inspiration there. At the department of music he looked at posters of what events would be happening and then he found something: Open Mic Night. Singing and poetry, all were welcome. He hated poetry slams because he knew the crowd on campus. If he was honest they were not too different from fine arts majors like him except that they loved the sound of their own voices. They could not stand around their art looking artsy and hoping that someone notices them, oh no, they needed to speak into a mic, all slow paced like, oh no they had to get their Rupi Kaur on, with put-on accents and awkward pauses, snapping their fingers after every fake deep line waiting for the crowd to make responding snaps. Ugh. But students at open mic’s were everyday people, and it involved other creative people, if there was a place that Junmyeon could at least sketch inspiration to bullshit his way through the assignment, it was there.</p>
<p>At 11 pm on the dot, three hours after it had begun, Junmyeon found himself at the venue, and it was crawling with other people in need of inspiration. The university newspaper club people were there hoping for a good human interest story, the photography and filmmaking student likely also had content to look for and other students had nothing better to be doing.</p>
<p>These people that were desperately in need of inspiration are not what got Junmyeon’s attention though. He heard someone demand that their mic be turned up and looked to the stage. On the stage was a man with hair that was dyed red, kohl lining his eyes and a face chain whose pouty lips were screwed into a scowl as he kept raising his index finger up to signal the crew to put his mic higher so his voice would project more. He looked... interesting. Junmyeon had certainly never seen him before. Then he opened his mouth to sing and Junmyeon froze.</p>
<p>“She's so selfish but I like it…” the man crooned into the mic. And Junmyeon heard it in his head. Junmyeon was transfixed and moved closer to the stage staring up at the man swinging his hips and letting his hand run over his mic stand. He was not the only one who focused on the singer, he saw people raise their cameras. The singer, no, his soulmate seemed to see Junmyeon but he did not recognise him as his soulmate the way Junmyeon did, of course not, still, Junmyeon felt a bit shy when the singer winked at him. He wished that he could sing back, wished that he knew the song but he didn’t. He let the sound wash over him, felt the buzz in energy of everyone around him. Whoever this man is, he could perform.</p>
<p> If he had performed before Junmyeon had clearly missed out by skipping on these kinds of events. He never knew that the department of music had <em>this </em>caliber of performers. <em> And my soulmate is one of them. </em>All this time, Junmyeon’s soulmate had been right under his nose. He never imagined he could have found them so easily, too easily, so he scoffed whenever Chanyeol tried to invite him to these things. And yet, here he was, seeing his soulmate. It’s not that sparks flew, it is the feeling that Yixing and Chanyeol probably got witnessing each other make music, the feeling of someone who is in love with their craft.</p>
<p>Junmyeon may prefer painters, but maybe other art students were not so bad either.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Baekhyun was driving Yixing and Chanyeol up the wall. He had had an open mic performance and allegedly had seen <em>the love of his life. </em>Chanyeol and Yixing were not taking him very seriously. They were somehow simultaneously more and less realistic about the timeframe in which one found their soulmate. As in, somehow they were confident that everyone found their soulmate (granted Baekhyun had never heard of people not finding their soulmate at some point, but how did they <em>know</em>) but they also did not think that Baekhyun could tell that he saw his soulmate when he had not heard him sing. It was probably adrenaline they thought, they couldn’t know what he experienced last night though, how he saw a handsome man in dirty white sneakers and old dungarees with holes and paint on them move closer to the stage as he sang. They didn’t understand how electrified he felt to see the man get mesmerized by him singing. They didn’t get that it wasn’t like the rest of the crowd, consumed by the entire performance outside of his voice. The man saw Baekhyun arguing about them lowering his mic’s volume and moved closer and closer when he started <em>singing. </em></p>
<p>Feeling that they may have offended him, especially Yixing who could be guilt tripped with little effort on his part and who in turn could convince Chanyeol to stop joking around, the two men placated Baekhyun by asking what the man looked like. It did not last long though, once he moved from the outfit to his facial features he saw them glance at each other with eyes sparkling. He hated it when they did that.</p>
<p>Yixing pulled out his phone and started looking for something before he showed Baekhyun a photo. Looking back at him was a man with paint on his cheeks and hands, outfit matching the wall. The man had dark brows, deep eyes and a highly symmetrical face. Has cheeks looked squeezable, pinched up by a wide grin that almost made the man’s eyes close. It was the guy from last night. Baekhyun lunged for the phone and alarmed and surprised Yixing crowded into Chanyeol more.</p>
<p>“YOU KNOW HIM?! WHY DO I NOT KNOW HIM?!” Baekhyun screeched. This was truly ridiculous. And that was saying a lot. Yixing sputtered not knowing how to answer. Baekhyun should’ve known, Yixing befriended students in the arts like it was nothing. On other days Baekhyun might have made jokes about harems until Chanyeol threw a cushion at him.</p>
<p>Now Baekhyun demanded all the information that Yixing had on this Junmyeon guy and when he realised Chanyeol knew the guy too? They had to spend the whole day and night indulging all his random questions about Junmyeon.</p>
<p>“At this rate you will have nothing to talk to him about.” Chanyeol said drily, prompting giggles from Yixing. Baekhyun ignored them; he had a plan for the meet cutes of all meet cutes.</p>
<p>The morning following his grand discovery, Baekhyun got ready. He didn’t want to look like he was trying too hard so he opted for a casual all black outfit consisting of baggy black sweats, with a bad brains t-shirt and a bucket hat. He put on some silver rings and clip on silver earrings to make it look a little more tasteful. Yes, he wore clip ons, he was scared of needles okay, and that’s why he had zero tattoos.</p>
<p>Then Baekhyun stopped by the coffee shop. He got a mocha latte for Junmyeon and an Americano for himself, he could almost cry at the price, university cafes were always engaging in ripping off students but ah well. He whistles and made his way to the art centre where the student art gallery was located. According to Yixing, Junmyeon should be sketching at one of the marble benches there, a hobby of his. Sure enough, Junmyeon was there, dressed matching the gallery. Apparently that was his thing when he wasn’t in his painting clothes. Perfectly matching outfits, befit of instagram influencers. He apparently also hated social media and was a technophobe so there was a sense of irony in that. Baekhyun got closer and started singing. Junmyeon glanced up and moved his head about to find Baekhyun who met his eyes. Baekhyun saw recognition in Junmyeon’s eyes as Baekhyun sang the song. The first song he ever sang wrong which started the whole thing.</p>
<p>Junmyeon let him get closer before he sang back. And sang the wrong words. Baekhyun choked on the next line and started to laugh. Junmyeon also laughed.</p>
<p>“It was so fucking annoying, do you know that?” Junmyeon exclaimed. Baekhyun sat next to him.</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, but that was the only way I got to hear your voice. Here, by the way.” Baekhyun handed him his mocha latte. Junmyeon gladly took it and took a sip. They were quiet and comfortable. They’d snort when they made eye contact, especially if the reason was the sound of one of them slurping on their drinks.</p>
<p>“I’m Junmyeon.”</p>
<p>“I’m Baekhyun.”</p>
<p>“Your eyes shine like the stars.”  Junmyeon said teasingly, referring to the wrong lyrics. Baekhyun groaned and nudged him.</p>
<p>“I’m supposed to be the annoying one.” Junmyeon didn’t respond to that, but he did shuffle to sit a little closer.</p>
<p>
  <em>You shine like the stars. You light up my heart.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Annnnd thats the SuBaek story. And remember, this author loves likes and kudos because we like approval and whatnot. I am MaskedXinger on twitter and Curious Cat.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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